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The Target
"The Target" is the second episode of Dollhouse, and it was written and directed by Steven DeKnight. It aired on February 20th, 2009 on Fox. Production Production on "The Target" began on September 25th, 2008. "The Target" was the fourth episode produced, and it was the first episode to be produced after production went into hiatus to focus on future scripts in September 2008. Steven DeKnight commented on the premise of the show: "One thing to remember when you're watching this episode: it wouldn't exist without Joss Whedon. He gave me all the tools and all the pieces to put it together. He also gave me an episode that played to my strengths. Without the juice squeezed from that big pulsating brain of his, I'd be sitting here with an empty glass." Synopsis Echo is imprinted to be the female counterpart to an avid outdoorsman, Richard Connell, and quickly learns how the hunter becomes the hunted during her wilderness adventure. Agent Ballard receives a clue to Echo’s real identity, encouraging him to continue his investigation, while flashbacks reveal the tragic events at the Dollhouse that led to Boyd's arrival and Dr. Saunders’ scars. Reception Overall reaction to "The Target" was positive, with most reviews pointing out improvements over the pilot and some even speculating that it would have been a better pilot than "Ghost". Crew Eliza Dushku described the episode as "beyond dope". Amy Acker recalls coming back after the hiatus: "The first show that came back was a Steve DeKnight show; he was directing it, and it's just really, really great." Joss Whedon himself called "The Target" "an ep so cool it helped not only define the show but save its ass". When asked why they didn't start out with "The Target" as the pilot, he replied: "That episode was meant originally to be around episode five, or possibly even eight, and it was the network who said, excuse me, did you say bow hunting? That will come second please, because we already had the pilot working, so it kind of got bumped up further than, but you’re not the first person to say why didn’t you just open with that, and my answer would be I don’t know. I had the other idea first." Dana Walden, Co-Chairman of 20th Century Fox Television, commented on the hiatus the show took around the time "The Target" was produced, while describing the episode as "as compelling a script as I’ve ever read. You just fly through it. It’s engaging, it’s exciting. It was the script where everyone said, “You know what, Joss is on to something. We need to give him some breathing room. Let’s take a couple weeks down so the scripts can catch up to this direction.” Critics Ratings Overnight numbers showed a 4.22 Million viewership, with an average of 2.7/5 (Rating/Share) and 1.7/5 in the 18-49 demo. Cast Main cast *Eliza Dushku as Echo *Olivia Williams as Adelle DeWitt *Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard *Harry Lennix as Boyd Langton *Fran Kranz as Topher Brink *Dichen Lachman as Sierra (Flashbacks) *Enver Gjokaj as Lubov Recurring cast *Amy Acker as Dr. Claire Saunders *Reed Diamond as Laurence Dominic *Miracle Laurie as Mellie *Mark Sheppard as Tanaka Guest stars *Matt Keeslar as Richard Connell *Rich McDonald as Park Ranger *Karina Michel as Lubov's girl *Jennifer Segal as Female Active *Erin Cummings as Attendant *Rico E. Anderson as Agent *Omar Adam as Male Active *Tim Conlon as Shaw *Kevin Sizemore as Driver Notes & References External links *"The Target" at the Official Dollhouse Wiki *"The Target" at tv.com *"The Target" at IMDb Category:Episodes